The new noise laws for San Antonio means all bars & clubs in the West End area need to close by 3am and terraces removed by 12am midnight. This only applies to the West End which is a few blocks wide but makes up the heart of San An’s ‘old town’.

To get the new law passed through as quickly as possible before summer 2018 the 3-party coalition council has designated the West End area a ‘zone of special acoustic protection’ due to consistent high noise levels during the summer.

The West End and San Antonio’s relies heavily on British tourism, around 75% of all tourists who visit the town are British and many are youngsters aged 18-25 experiencing their first overseas holiday drawn to Ibiza by it’s sun and fun reputation coupled with world class clubs and the biggest names in dance music. They come to San An because it’s ticks all the boxes for their demographic and budget and many come back over and over again progressively upgrading

San Antonio has always been a gateway for this type of tourist, those that can’t afford the big bucks options that other resorts and islands offer. It’s always been this way because this is what the local hotels cater for. San Antonio only has three 4 star hotels in the whole town and this is reflected in those that come here. Even though local hotels have had a dramatic reformation over the last 15 years they are still a million miles away from being termed as ‘world class’.

So unless a raft of 5 star beach resorts open in the next 10 years then San An will keep offering the same type of rooms at reasonable rates that attract a certain demographic, the same demographic that Valdes and his honchos from the fun Police clearly don’t want. Even if the big hotel chains wanted to create a 5 star wonderland the socialist island government has a building ban in place so nothing will get built in the next few years plus it’s currently taking over 2 years to apply and obtain a licence to reform an existing hotel.

For those who come to San An and don’t have the cash to book VIP tables at Ibiza’s super clubs, the West End offers drinks and bright lights that is a beacon for fun at a very reasonable price. Love it or loathe it, it has always had a place in the Island’s dynamic….until now.

Over the last few years its sad to say but the West End has gone downhill fast, quickly degenerating into a ghetto where police are rarely seen leaving a lawless vacuum. The West End’s failure to police itself has resulted in 3 major problems:

1. Unscrupulous bar operators and their PRs forcing cheap drinks deals on naive youngsters who end up in a drunken state.

2. Organised prostitutes on every corner hassling passers by and robbing those too drunk to notice or defend themselves

3. The same gangs of pickpockets waiting near the Taxi rank on a nightly basis preying on young tourists just out to have a good time.

4. The ‘looky looky’ men are now peddling laughing gas to naive youngsters, even though it’s illegal and leaves a mess behind the local authorities don’t seem too interested in tackling the problem.

These issues are not dissimilar to many other Mediterranean resorts however rather than confront the criminals and the lawbreakers Deputy Mayor Valdés has declared war on the bars of the West End so in turn will penalise those tourists who frequent and enjoy them, the majority of which are British.

Sr Valdés clearly dislikes the tourism that San Antonio has thrived on for decades and has used the complaints of ‘147’ residents to justify his actions. Let that sink in a minute: 147 residents who live in an area that is famous for bars and has been for nearly 50 years. 147 residents in a town that relies 100% on tourism. 147 residents who need to be protected but also who live in the middle of a ghost town for 7-8 months a year. Their petition of just 170 signatures has been taken more seriously than the 1300 presented by the market stall holders and my own of over 2000 asking for action against the aggressive street sellers, I didn’t even get a reply.

You couldn’t really make it up but that’s the conundrum of San Antonio, a council that constantly bites the hand that feeds it and who yearn for those ‘nice’ families and middle aged/elderly couples who choose to visit Santa Eulalia for 4-6 months a year.

While Sr Valdés focusses his iré on British tourists, culling the enjoyment of youngsters and ruining the livelihoods of many honest bar owners (Spanish and foreign) the true criminals haven’t been mentioned so will be free to roam around and do their ill deeds with very little Police presence.

This is unforgivable: this council who love to take away but give nothing back. 147 residents may be affected by the extra noise for 4 months but how many young tourists are affected on a weekly basis by the unchallenged criminals. Many more than 147 I would imagine but they aren’t voters are they and they were probably drunk so ‘deserved’ it in the eyes of this council.

Without doubt San An needs cleaning up and that’s the elected council’s job but address the real issues first rather than target legitimate businesses built up over decades, who employ many and add to the town. San An has plenty of problems that need addressing but a few extra decibels for 4 months a year isn’t the real issue here.

The Balearic governments obsession with public workers speaking Catalan has reached crisis level at Ibiza’s Can Misses hospital.

3 weeks ago the Balearic Health Board approved a decree with a minimum requirement of the Catalan language to be able to work in the Balearic health service which has caused many non-Catalan speakers to consider their position.

Although 75% of the trade unions voted against, the decree was passed thanks to a single vote in favor by the current socialist government led by PSOE’s Francina Armengol with the support of MÉS and the left wing Podemos.

With this strict new language criteria coupled with the continuing housing problems some health professionals have decided to move away from the island rather than study Catalan.

Neuropediatrician Ileana Antón from Argentina is one such example: “I’m not against Catalan, I am against it being a requirement to get a job, it is against my principles that I am valued in a different way because I do or don’t speak a language”.

Anton continued: “To put it as a requirement seems to me to be a supreme level of ignorance. Those who are managing public health are doing it from their ideology and not thinking about whether the service is quality for patients”.

Anton’s boss Bartolomé Boned, is from Ibiza and he thinks the same, lamenting that it’s difficult enough already to attract trained professionals without putting any further obstacles in the way: “it’s going to be even more difficult because we’re creating a problem where there wasn’t one”. Only 5 out of 7,000 complaints received by the Balearic public health service were because the professional did not know how to speak Catalan.

“The language of a doctor are the signs and symptoms of diseases,” believes Ileana: “If Messi doesn’t have to speak Catalan to play for Barça, I don’t know why I do to be a doctor In ibiza”.

The sad truth is that 18 emergency service physicians have left the island in the last 7 months and currently there are 8 vacancies with little hope of filling them. Most of the 21 professionals who work in this service do so with a temporary contract, none are from the Balearics and only 2 currently have the required level of Catalan. Meanwhile there are waiting times of up to 8 hours in the emergency room. “The situation is critical” said Anton.

San Antonio council has confirmed that they will push through new noise laws in time for summer 2018 and it’s not good news for the West End. The coalition council has decided to act after acoustic tests in the town last summer showed that the area was exceeding current noise laws by up to 20 decibels.

The new proposals will see all bars and clubs in the West End area (Calle del Mar to Calle Progreso and Calle Antonio Riquer to Calle Balanzat) shut by 3am with all terraces closed and removed by 11pm. Bars will also have to invest in sound proofing and install noise limiters which can be closely monitored by the local authorities. What’s more the council have said that no more licences for music bars or restaurants will be granted.

Mayor Jose Tur said that 147 residents are currently affected by the noise from this area with councillor Pablo Valdes adding that the excess noise is like a train passing by your bedroom window.

This hard line approach has many bar owner/operators questioning whether the famous West End has a future. Last August saw terraces close at midnight which had a dramatic effect on many establishments.

In the new ordinance the government has made no mention of the criminal elements that has blighted the West End for the last few years. Rather than focussing on removing the criminals they appear to be trying to remove the people that the criminals prey on.

San Antonio council are set to introduce more hardline measures to curb the perceived excesses of the town’s famous West End area.

A new 3 pronged attack will see bars having to invest and install new sound proofing comparable to large nightclubs as many are already ‘de facto discotheques’ according to the council.

The big news will see a major reduction to the opening hours with Councillor for the Environment Pablo Valdes saying they will ‘have to be significantly lower’ than the existing 5am closing time as the ongoing noise problems in the town has it’s origins firmly in this area.

finally, a hardening of economic sanctions is expected for bars and individuals who violate noise regulations with small fines being replaced with more immediate action.

These measures are a continuation, added Valdés, of others already adopted by the San Antonio coalition council such as the pedestrianisation of several streets in the West End area and the reduction of the terrace hours.

The government team has been carrying out technical studies and diagnostics for two years and want these new measures “to represent a real change” that goes beyond the traditional declarations of good intentions, it also hopes to have the support of the opposition party so that these interventions endure over time.

The noise measurement stations installed this summer in the West End confirmed that the regulation on noise pollution is systematically violated. The records reached 85.9 decibels, 20 more than allowed. The results of 2017 corroborate the analyses carried out in 2016.

Source: Diario de Ibiza

Comment: Whether you are a fan of the West End or not it seems that San An’s Council are determined for things to change but are targeting local businesses yet again rather than the blatant crime and misdemeanours that occur on a nightly basis in that area. The West End has always been a first port of entry for many youngsters on the island who then come back every year but with little to no control over the last few years it’s disintegrated into an anything goes environment. The coalition government team seem to think that by focusing on closing the West End this would remove the problem but by doing so reduces a historical part of the town. Wouldn’t more positive policing on the streets be a better option?